In the era of financialization turn, high-end financial service capabilities with high professionalism and high added value have become one of the core competencies for cities to participate in regional capital allocation. However, most of the existing studies measure urban financial service capabilities within the framework of static analysis, lacking a dynamic network perspective based on the actual financial connections between cities and attention to the high-end financial service capabilities of cities. This study overcome some limitations of the traditional network construction methods by focusing on the relationship between listed enterprises and related advanced producer services (APS) during the initial public offering (IPO) process of listed enterprises. The study incorporated the IPO-raised funds into the weight to construct a multi-stage high-end financial service network for Chinese cities from 1993 to 2023. The social network analysis method was adopted to measure and evaluate the high-end financial service capabilities of cities, and the formation mechanism was systematically analyzed in combination with the bidirectional fixed effects model. The research findings are as follows: 1) The urban financial network in China presented a hierarchical core-periphery structure and a spatial pattern of dense in the east and sparse in the west, and the regional network pattern was consistent with the overall economic development level. 2) The high-end financial service capabilities of Chinese cities presented a core-periphery structure centered on Beijing-Shanghai-Shenzhen, and polarization was increasingly prominent over time. 3) The empirical results based on the "input-demand-institutional" analysis framework reveal the core formation mechanism of a city's high-end financial service capacity: The reserve of financial industry talents enhances the quality of high-end service supply by increasing a city's human capital, and the city's innovation capacity mainly plays a role by driving the demand for high-end financial services through the listing of science and technology innovation enterprises. The administrative hierarchy of cities promotes the aggregation of elements and the construction of an innovative ecosystem through institutional empowerment in large cities, indirectly driving capacity improvement. The dynamic weighted network method developed in this research overcome the limitations of traditional frequency statistics, more scientifically and comprehensively revealing the spatial pattern of high-end financial service capabilities in Chinese cities, and provides a solid empirical basis for understanding its formation mechanism.

Declining resource-based cities, as "problem regions" in China's regional development, have seen cross-regional investment becoming an important means to accelerate inter-regional flows of production factors and promote their own transformation and development with the reduction of their comparative advantages. Based on data of cross-regional investments by enterprises in China's declining resource-based cities from 2001 to 2022, this study analyzed the characteristics of investment scales, investment distances, and investment field characteristics, adopted the social network analysis method to analyze the evolution trend of the cross-regional investment networks by enterprises, and further examined the influencing factors from both the push and pull perspectives. The results show that: 1) The scale of cross-regional investment by enterprises in China's declining resource-based cities gradually increased from 2001 to 2022, and cities in central China gradually became the main cross-regional investment subjects. There was a significant local preference in the process of enterprise cross-regional investment, but medium and long-distance investments had increased in recent years, showing the feature of "contraction at both ends and expansion in the middle". 2) Manufacturing and producer services were not only the main sectors for outward investment but also key recipient sectors. Over time, the invested producer services had experienced obvious changes from wholesale and retail trade to scientific research and technical services. 3) The complexity and intensity of the enterprise cross-regional investment network continued to increase; however, the spatial structure remained relatively decentralized, with weak connections between cities. During the study period, the polarization of the strongest ties had weakened, and structural adjustment within the network was evident. 4) The enterprise cross-regional investment network exhibited a significant modular structure, with new nodes increasingly integrating through cross-module collaboration, highlighting a growing hierarchical trend. Additionally, the enterprise cross-regional investment network was transitioning from a distinct core-periphery structure towards a more balanced state. 5) The influencing factors varied significantly across different stages. The economic vitality of declining resource-based cities and the geographical distance between the investing and receiving cities consistently remained the primary factors affecting cross-regional investment by enterprises. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the spatial structure and key influencing factors of enterprise cross-regional investment in declining resource-based cities, providing a scientific support for optimizing the path selection and decision making of cross-regional investment and promoting regional coordinated development. The research findings may serve as a reference for other types of resource-based cities.

Knowledge complexity is a core variable for assessing regional innovation quality and predicting economic growth potential, yet existing studies have insufficiently examined its spatiotemporal heterogeneity and driving mechanisms at micro scales such as towns and subdistricts. Drawing on invention patent data for township‑level units (towns and subdistricts) in the Pearl River Delta region from 1990 to 2022, this study measured the knowledge complexity index (KCI) and, by combining spatial autocorrelation analysis with a multi‑scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model, explored the spatiotemporal dynamics of knowledge complexity. The results show that: 1) The overall change of knowledge domains followed a pattern of "ICT‑led and multi‑field synergy", while knowledge domains in strategic emerging industries such as biomedicine and new energy exhibited breakthrough spatial configurations. 2) The spatial pattern of knowledge complexity followed a gradient of "core agglomeration and peripheral lag", evolving from an initially scattered distribution into a polycentric network structure centered on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen science and technology innovation corridor. 3) The driving effects of knowledge structure displayed pronounced spatiotemporal heterogeneity, with related variety continuously strengthening the positive impact of technological relatedness on knowledge complexity, whereas unrelated variety showing a stage‑specific trajectory of first promoting and then differentiation—exerting a generally positive effect on knowledge complexification in the early period, but in the later period remaining significantly positive only in the Guangzhou-Foshan core area. 4) The spatial configuration of innovation factors played a key role in shaping the differentiation of knowledge complexity. Local governments need to adopt gradient‑adaptive strategies: core areas should reinforce networks of technological relatedness, while peripheral areas should prioritize the cultivation of specialized cluster advantages. This study can provide scientific references for breaking low‑end lock‑in, reshaping a high‑quality innovation landscape, and constructing spatial coordination mechanisms in the Pearl River Delta region.

Against the backdrop of technological revolution reshaping regional development patterns, the Nanjing Metropolitan Area—a key hub for the Yangtze River Delta's influence on central and western China—plays a crucial role in regional high-quality development through its innovation integration. This study used high-tech corporate investment, talent mobility, and county patent transfer data from 2000 to 2023 to construct a multidimensional innovation network for the Nanjing Metropolitan Area. Employing complex network analysis, the siphoning and trickle-down model, and the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) regression method, it systematically explored the structural change, spatial effects, and driving mechanisms of this innovation system. The results show that: 1) The innovation network exhibited a spatial radiation pattern centered on Nanjing. The siphoning and trickle-down effect of the Nanjing growth pole has shifted from strong siphoning-weak trickling to collaborative development. Technology flows have transitioned from siphoning to trickling dominance, capital flows continued to spill over, and talent siphoning intensity has decreased. 2) Adjacent counties and districts of prefecture-level cities are categorized into five types of border effects: shielding, penetration, contact, filtering, and integration. Nanjing-Ma'anshan and Wuhu-Xuancheng formed technology flow integration boundaries, while Changzhou-Xuancheng and Nanjing-Yangzhou exhibited talent flow integration boundaries; Some boundaries between Nanjing-Zhenjiang and Nanjing-Chuzhou exhibited filtering effects on capital flows due to administrative gradient differences, specifically manifested as high-intensity innovation diffusion from Nanjing to Jurong, Nanqiao, and Lai'an. 3) Economic development and enterprise development levels exerted differentiated influences on multidimensional innovation linkages across different periods. Labor income disparities exhibited a significant negative correlation with innovation linkages, while fiscal science and technology investments, development zones, and the number of universities significantly promoted innovation linkages. Geographic, technological, and institutional proximity facilitated factor mobility. This study revealed the complex mechanisms underlying innovation integration within the Nanjing Metropolitan Area from the perspective of multidimensional innovation networks, aiming to provide a theoretical foundation and practical reference for regional collaborative innovation development.

This study analyzed the spatial flow path of carbon sequestration services based on the flow of ecosystem services, and constructed a one-to-one carbon compensation mechanism linking the subject and object of compensation, to provide a theoretical reference and scientific support for optimizing the carbon compensation policy for the coordinated development of the ecology and economy. Taking the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration as the study area, the study clustered the standard explicit comparative advantages in the socioeconomic, ecological environment, and land use structure aspects, identified carbon compensation and compensated areas, revealed the spatial transfer paths of carbon sequestration services within the YRD urban agglomeration by combining with the fracture point and field strength model, and then calculated the amount of carbon compensation based on the contribution of carbon sinks of the cities. The results of the study indicate that: 1) Carbon emissions in the YRD urban agglomeration showed a continuous upward trend, while carbon sequestration showed a downward trend. Spatially, carbon emissions and carbon sequestration showed opposite distribution patterns, with carbon emissions characterized by "high in the east, low in the west and high in the north, low in the south" and carbon sequestration characterized by "high in the west, low in the east and high in the south, low in the north". 2) During the study period, the flow of carbon sequestration services in the YRD urban agglomeration was mainly in the direction of southwest-northeast, with a clear preference for proximity, where Xuancheng was the most stable and largest carbon sequestration service output area, and Nanjing (adjacent to Xuancheng) was the largest input area. In 2022, the carbon compensation payment of Nanjing was 41036500 yuan. In conclusion, the scale of carbon deficits in the YRD urban agglomeration has been expanding, and there was an obvious spatial mismatch between carbon revenues and expenditures, so the construction of a cross-regional carbon compensation mechanism is a realistic demand for realizing the dual carbon goals.

Against the backdrop of evolving regional population mobility patterns and spatial transformations from urbanization, county-level units in inland regions of China have emerged as significant arenas for nearby urbanization in recent years. This study developed an indicator for the propensity of intra-county mobility. It employed a coupling and coordination degree model and an evaluation method for coordination influence to investigate the evolution of the preference for localized population mobility in counties within central China from 2010 to 2020, along with its coupling and coordination relationship with multi-dimensional urbanization at the county level. The findings reveal that: 1) Population mobility in these counties was characterized by a dominance of long-distance migration alongside an accelerated trend towards nearby movement. Differences in mobility choices appeared across provinces, influenced by their varying stages of economic development. The gap in the preference for intra-county mobility between regular counties and county-level cities was minimal, underscoring the fundamental role of county seats in absorbing locally oriented population flows. 2) The coupling and coordination between the preference for intra-county mobility and demographic urbanization was generally high. The most notable improvement was observed in the coordination with social urbanization. However, the economic subsystem had begun to show an inhibiting effect on the overall coupling degree. The dominant influence on coordination imbalance was shifting away from being primarily driven by the social service system towards being increasingly constrained by lagging economic development. 3) The differentiation of county types and the evolution of their multi-dimensional coupling relationships resulted from the combined effects of local retention forces and external pull factors. Government initiatives, through institutional innovation and improved public services, strengthened local retention and promoted coordinated development between intra-county mobility and social urbanization. Nonetheless, the relative lag in the supply of industrial factors led to an absence of production-oriented pull forces. This, combined with the persistent effect of external pull factors, created a constraining effect from the economic subsystem and introduced risks associated with exogenous urbanization. This research deepens the understanding of the change of population mobility patterns and the mechanisms underlying county urbanization pathways. It can provide a reference for promoting healthy and sustainable nearby urbanization.

Promoting the adaptation of digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth is a practical necessity for contiguous poverty-stricken areas to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and achieve common prosperity. Most existing studies have focused on the impact of digital financial inclusion on the single system of inclusive green growth, lacking empirical analysis of the adaptive relationship among the two. Based on the panel data of 71 county-level units in the Wuling Mountains Area from 2014 to 2022, this study adopted the comprehensive adaptation evaluation model, exploratory spatiotemporal data analysis, and spatiotemporal geographically weighted regression model to systematically reveal the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of the adaptation ofdigital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth, as well as the spatiotemporal non-stationarity of its influencing factors. The results show that: 1) During the study period, the adaptation level of digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth in the Wuling Mountains Area had shown a steadily increasing trend. The whole adaptation type had changed from relatively unadaptable to moderately adaptable during the research period of 2014-2022. 2) The spatial integration of the digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth in the Wuling Mountains Area was relatively strong, and the local spatial structure was relatively stable. There were transfer inertia and path lock-in phenomena. The local spatial structures in the individual regions of Chongqing and Guizhou fluctuated more significantly. 3) The adaptation of digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth in the Wuling Mountains Area was mainly influenced by factors such as economic foundation, government support, educational level, and information technology level. The intensity and direction of influence of each factor exhibited significant temporal and spatial non-stationarity. Due to the constraints of topographical conditions, the impact of transportation accessibility on the inter-provincial border areas was relatively small. Theoretically, unlike existing studies that unilaterally explore how digital financial inclusion affects inclusive green growth, this study, based on the construction of a theoretical framework for the adaptation between digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth, quantitatively measured the bidirectional interaction between the two systems. This is conducive to enriching the research scope of adaptation theory and expanding the research content on the relationship between digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth. Practically, this study not only clarified the key driving factors of the adaptation between digital financial inclusion and inclusive green growth, but also explored the spatiotemporal non-stationarity of different influencing factors, responding to the contemporary demand for formulating policies to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation in accordance with local conditions. It has practical significance for promoting the digital transformation and high-quality development of the Wuling Mountains Area in a coordinated and interactive manner.

Service-oriented specialized villages possess significant developmental potential, thus urgently requiring categorized comparisons and theoretical analysis of their distribution patterns. This study, grounded in the "first and second nature" theory, employed spatial analysis and an optimal multivariate stratification geographical detector to examine the distribution of China's service-oriented specialized villages by industry type. The findings reveal that while leisure tourism and e-commerce villages share broadly similar distribution patterns, characteristics, and drivers, their spatial distribution reflects common underlying rules. Specifically: 1) In terms of distribution patterns, service-oriented specialized villages are densely concentrated in eastern coastal regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin, southern Jiangsu, and eastern Zhejiang areas. Leisure tourism villages exhibit a "dual-core" pattern, while e-commerce villages display a "single-core" pattern with a more southeastern distribution extent and center of gravity. 2) In terms of distribution characteristics, service-oriented specialized villages are primarily located in areas with advantages in both "first and second nature" factors—namely, flat terrain, warm and humid climate, proximity to small and medium rivers, high population density, developed economy, convenient transportation, and favorable location. Leisure tourism villages have overall lower threshold requirements for these factors compared to e-commerce villages. 3) In terms of distribution drivers, the spatial patterns of service-oriented specialized villages result from the combined influence and interaction of both "first and second nature" factors. Among these, "second nature" factors, particularly the locational element of town-village relationships, play a dominant and amplifying role, while population and economic factors also exert considerable influence. This study extends the application of the "first and second nature" theory and deepens the understanding of the distributional differences and influencing factors of service-oriented specialized villages.

In the context of accelerated urbanization and burgeoning tourism, the spatial configurations of traditional villages, emerging from extensive interactions between social and spatial dynamics, are undergoing significant degradation and manifesting complex heterogenization challenges. This study focused on Banliang Village in Hunan Province using qualitative methodologies including in-depth interviews and participant observation, to develop a comprehensive socio-spatial interaction analytical framework. The research investigated the mechanisms of transformation from social structures to spatial arrangements, alongside the reciprocal impacts of spatial factors on the perpetuation of social structures, thereby elucidating the underlying principles and suggesting potential restoration strategies. The findings include: 1) An examination of the evolution of spatial forms, ranging from individual buildings to street and lane spaces and overall spatial configurations, in relation to the social hierarchy characterized by social stratification, relational networks, and economic structures, revealed that social stratification influences the architectural forms of individual buildings, while variations in morphology reinforce class divisions; social interactions shape the layout of streets and lanes, which in turn modify social relations; and the economic framework directs the trajectory of spatial evolution, with spatial configurations exerting a counterbalancing effect on economic transformations. 2) A proposed spatial restoration pathway for Banliang Village is articulated through the dual lenses of "society shaping space" and "space reciprocating to society". This research contributes to the discourse on the mutual construction of society and space, enhancing the understanding of the intrinsic logic governing traditional village spatial configurations and providing innovative perspectives for the planning and preservation of these vital cultural landscapes.

Against the backdrop of rural revitalization and digital China initiatives, digital technology is increasingly integrated into the development of ethnic tourism villages. Drawing on individualization theory, this study examined how bottom-up digital practices by village residents drive village spatial restructuring. Focusing on Zhaoxing Dong Village in Guizhou Province as a representative case, we employed in-depth life-history interviews, field observations, and multi-actor semi-structured interviews. The research explored the individualized practices of village residents, exemplified by Ms. L, a representative intangible cultural heritage (ICH) bearer, who utilizes digital tools for cultural performance, entrepreneurial promotion, and community connection, alongside the resulting spatial effects. Our findings reveal that digital technology offers village residents new pathways for local development, enabling them to actively integrate digital tools with indigenous culture. This integration profoundly reshapes village space: 1) In the material space, functional hybridization occurs, such as traditional dye workshops combining production with live-streaming functions. Productive landscapes like indigo fields transform into tourist attractions through digital media. 2) In the social space, power structures shift, with groups possessing digital skills gaining enhanced decision-making influence. Decisionmaking increasingly emphasizes skill, while online communities supplement traditional mutual aid networks. 3) In the cultural space, symbolic reproduction takes place. Village residents translate local knowledge into shareable content through visual narratives. This process meets external audience demands while simultaneously boosting cultural identity and self-awareness among internal groups, particularly female residents.The restructuring of material, social, and cultural spaces intertwines and mutually reinforces itself through individualized practices. This study elucidated the mechanism by which village residents' individualized digital practices drive systemic spatial restructuring in ethnic tourism villages. It provides theoretical insights and practical implications for balancing cultural preservation and economic development in such villages in the digital era.

Against the backdrop of declining fishery resources and increasingly stringent marine governance in the South China Sea (SCS), traditional fishing livelihoods face severe challenges, prompting fishing towns such as Tanmen to seek transformation toward tourism development. In this process, the SCS fishing heritage has emerged as a vital form of cultural capital driving industrial transition. Drawing on long-term fieldwork in Tanmen, Qionghai City, Hainan Province, and employing the concept of authorized heritage discourse (AHD), this study examined how the SCS fishing heritage has been shaped and transformed into tourism resources through the interplay of national narratives, local transformation, and industrial logics. The findings reveal that this heritage is not a unidirectional construction imposed by the state but a dynamic outcome of interactions between multiple actors at the national and local scales. The AHD endows the SCS fishing heritage with cultural-political capital that serves national sovereignty narratives, while providing local tourism products with symbolic legitimacy and national value endorsement. The study further showed that the tourismization of AHD represents both a localization of national narratives and a strategic response by local actors seeking cultural and economic benefits. Through the analytical framework of landscape, symbols, and memory, the study revealed how the local governments and residents have converted fisher culture into consumable tourism resources, developing diverse sectors such as sightseeing, dinning, accommodation, and recreation, and forming a dynamic structure of national discourse formation-local translation-industrial practice. However, a top-down political orientation and limited community participation have led to the shallow expression of local culture. Additionally, outdated leisure fishery policies, complex administrative procedures, and weak benefit-sharing mechanisms continue to constrain local innovation and the live transmission of heritage. Based on the empirical findings, this study developed an analytical framework of heritage tourismization pathways, which addresses the lack of holistic perspectives in current research and elucidates the internal logic of heritage transformation into local tourism resources. The tourismization of the SCS fishing heritage not only provides new means for sustaining cultural identity amid the shrinking of traditional fishing spaces but also offers practical solutions for reconciling marine governance with fishermen's livelihoods. Accordingly, the study calls for improving leisure fishery policies and enhancing community participation mechanisms to promote the inheritance of the SCS fishing heritage and the sustainable transformation of traditional fishing towns.

North China is the region with the largest economy and population in China. However, owing to its location in the monsoon and arid transitional belt, the ecological environment in the region is fragile. The frequent occurrence of droughts and floods in midsummer in the region poses a major challenge to water resources management, agricultural production, and urban system operation. Based on the ERA5 monthly reanalysis data and the daily precipitation data provided by the China Meteorological Administration, the water vapor pathways and budget in rainy midsummer years of North China and the relative contribution of its dynamic and thermodynamic effects were explored by using the water vapor budget equation, the moist static energy (MSE) budget equation, and the backward trajectory tracking mode. The results show that the precipitation anomaly in the rainy midsummer years in North China was mainly dominated by the dynamic process closely related to the anomalous ascending motion, which contributed up to 88%. In contrast, the contribution of the thermodynamic process was relatively small, accounting for about 12%, which was mainly controlled by anomalous moist transport. Specifically, about 67% of the water vapor transported from the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific and about 20% of the water vapor transported from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean converges over North China during midsummer, resulting in increased precipitation. The analysis based on MSE budget further revealed that the anomalous advection of climatological moist enthalpy by anomalous horizontal wind and the anomalous vertical MSE convection by climatological vertical motion constituted the main driving force of anomalous ascending motion. The southerly wind on the western flank of the anomalous anticyclone in the Bohai Sea effectively brought warm and humid air into North China, and the climatological ascending motion facilitated the vertical transport of high MSE air from the lower to upper levels. These two physical processes caused the increase of atmospheric MSE. In order to maintain the energy balance, the ascending motion was produced, resulting in a significant increase of midsummer precipitation over North China. In general, the midsummer precipitation anomaly in North China is dominated by large-scale dynamic processes, and the thermodynamic process provides the necessary environmental conditions for the occurrence of precipitation. The findings of this study provide a critical foundation for developing more accurate flood risk assessment and prediction systems, thereby establishing a solid scientific basis for mitigating disaster losses and ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development.

Amid the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation, new quality productive forces in agriculture have become a pivotal driver of China's agricultural modernization. However, their internal mechanisms, spatial patterns, and systemic constraints remain insufficiently explored. This study approached the issues from three key dimensions—agricultural production systems, management systems, and industrial systems—to systematically analyze how new quality productive forces empower agricultural modernization. Using the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method, it evaluated the provincial-level new qualityagricultural productive forces in China in 2022, identifying an overall spatial pattern of "strong in the east, weak in the west, and coastal concentration", and revealing the structural roots underlying these regional disparities. Further analysis highlighted four major bottlenecks—limited autonomy in core technologies, labor structure mismatches, delayed green transformation, and misaligned spatial layouts—which interact and reinforce one another, forming a systemic coupling dilemma that constrains overall improvement. Building on this result, the study summarized four practical pathways—technology-driven innovation, high-quality talent cultivation, green transformation orientation, and modern industrial system development—through typical regional cases to provide context-specific guidance for fostering new quality agricultural productive forces. Strengthening regional alignment and promoting the coordination of elements are essential pathways to mitigate regional imbalances and advance agricultural modernization in China.

In the context of building a moderately prosperous society, the follow-up development of resettlement areas for poverty-alleviation relocation in China is a key initiative to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements, promote rural revitalization, and achieve common prosperity. Using literature meta-analysis, this study systematically examined the subsequent development mode of resettlement areas for poverty-alleviation relocation in China and its spatial distribution characteristics, and categorized different modes and paths to propose the subsequent sustainable development measures of resettlement areas. The results show that China's resettlement areas for poverty-alleviation relocation can be mainly divided into six types: agriculture-led, industry-led, business and tourism services, residential, livelihood-security, and comprehensive development, and they are mainly concentrated in the original 14 contiguous poverty-stricken areas in China. Various types of resettlement areas implemented targeted measures in policy support, community governance, employment and entrepreneurship assistance, science and education support, supporting facility construction, among others in order toenhance residents' livelihood capital, optimize livelihood strategies, and realize the subsequent sustainable development. This study may provide some reference for the implementation of rural revitalization policies in resettlement areas for poverty-alleviation relocation, preventing the occurrence of large-scale poverty return and achieving subsequent sustainable development.

Filling a key gap in evolutionary economic geography, this research investigates the underexplored alternation between path dependence and breakthrough, and the contingent role of product complexity. Based on product space theory, this study systematically examined the change of Shanghai's manufacturing export products from 2002 to 2020, revealing the dynamic mechanisms of path dependence and breakthroughs. The findings are as follows: 1) Total manufacturing export value followed a trajectory of initial growth, subsequent decline, and eventual stabilization. 2) Export structure shifted from traditional light industry to high-value-added sectors, while maintaining comparative advantages in chemicals, plastics/rubber, base metals, and machinery. 3) A longitudinal case study of Shanghai's manufacturing exports within the product space framework shows that while path dependence dominates, relatedness fosters radical breakthrough (from "0" to "1") and complexity enables incremental upgrading (from "1" to "N"). 4) Notably, recent industrial restructuring is marked by a shift in complexity contribution from exiting rather than new products, revealing a challenge for sustained path creation. These findings advance theoretical understanding of path dynamics and offer practical guidance for industrial policy in mega-cities.

Against the backdrop of promoting urban-rural integration and achieving common prosperity, clarifying how urban spatial structure affects the income gap between urban and rural residents has significant policy and theoretical implications. Based on the panel data from 288 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2020, this study employed two-way fixed effects models, instrumental variable methods, and mediation effect models to examine the impact, mechanisms, and heterogeneity of polycentric urban structures on the urban-rural income gap from multiple perspectives. The results show that: 1) Polycentric spatial structures significantly reduce the income gap between urban and rural residents, and this finding remains robust after controlling for endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness checks. 2) Polycentric structures alleviate the urban-rural income gap through a triadic mechanism involving factors, industries, and markets. Specifically, they break down barriers in factor allocation between urban and rural areas, promote the transfer of surplus rural labor to non-agricultural sectors, foster the diversification of agro-related industries to improve rural livelihoods, and enhance the economic spillover capacity of core cities to increase the market potential of rural areas. 3) Heterogeneity analysis showed that the effect of polycentric spatial structure in reducing the urban-rural income gap is more significant in regions with smaller population sizes, lower administrative levels, larger topographical variations, non-resource-based cities, greater inter-center distances, and coastal cities. This indicates that geographical conditions, administrative resource distribution, and locational characteristics all have a significant impact on the effectiveness of polycentric spatial structures. The findings suggest that promoting polycentric urban development, optimizing the environment for factor mobility, cultivating diversified industrial systems, enhancing urban spillover effects on rural areas, and tailoring spatial development strategies to local conditions can advance urban-rural integration and regional coordinated development more effectively.

Against the backdrop of accelerating global digital transformation and escalating geopolitical tensions, political risk in China-U.S. relations has become a critical factor reshaping the globalization of China's information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Taking greenfield investment as the entry point, this study employed a combination of social network analysis and a global value chain heterogeneity framework to systematically assess how political risk affects China's global capital allocation and network position in the ICT industry. The findings reveal that China-U.S. political risk operates through three main mechanisms: decoupling and sanctions, restriction and redirection, and competitor cultivation, which collectively undermine China's investment attractiveness and its centrality within global production networks, particularly in high-value segments such as R&D and sales services. Meanwhile, under U.S.-led strategic restructuring, emerging economies such as India, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam have rapidly ascended in network centrality. This article argued that China-U.S. political risk has evolved from an external disturbance to a core driver of global production network restructuring. It further proposed that enhancing innovation within China and promoting regional coordination are key pathways for improving the resilience and adaptability of China's ICT industry. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of new globalization mechanisms under geopolitical pressure and offers theoretical insights for policy development in China.

Exploring the theoretical logic, spatiotemporal changes, and influencing factors of urban land green use efficiency from the perspective of space of flow can provide a scientific basis for promoting sustainable urban land development. Based on the space of flow perspective, this study deconstructed the theoretical logic of land green use efficiency. Taking the Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region from 2005 to 2023 as a case study, the genetic algorithm-projection pursuit model, Gini coefficient, XGBoost model, and SHAP algorithm were employed to examine the spatiotemporal change characteristics and influencing factors of land green use efficiency. The findings reveal that: 1) Urban land green use efficiency was driven by cross-regional flows of various factors, achieving the maximization of ecological, economic, and social benefits through three dimensions: optimization of input scale, spatial structure restructuring, and synergistic enhancement of benefits. 2) The urban land green use efficiency in the Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region exhibited a fluctuating upward trend temporally and a "high in the east, low in the west" spatial pattern. 3) The overall disparity in urban land green use efficiency in the region first increased and then decreased, with inter-provincial unbalanced development being the primary cause of spatial differences. In the scale dimension, the input of production factors was the main source of structural differences. 4) The economic flow, urbanization level, and technological flow were the dominant factors influencing the improvement of urban land green use efficiency in the Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region. Their synergistic interaction with socioeconomic factors strengthens the nonlinear effects on efficiency enhancement. The conclusions of this study can provide a theoretical support and decision-making references for improving urban land green use efficiency in the Jiangsu-Anhui-Shandong-Henan region.

Land serves as the carrier of economic activities and the spatial unit for low-carbon governance. Investigating the spatial effects of land use transition on carbon emission intensity and its underlying mechanisms can provide a scientific basis for exploring a synergistic development model that balances economic growth and low-carbon goals. Based on the panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2000 to 2022, this study employed the spatial Durbin model and mediation effect model to investigate the spatial effects of land use transition on carbon emission intensity and mechanisms, and analyzed its heterogeneity and spatial spillover boundaries. The results show that: 1) Land use transition in the Yangtze River Delta region showed an upward trend, with obvious north-south differences and a "core-periphery" differentiation pattern, and the transition was more intense in the core areas. Medium-level carbon emission intensity had gradually become dominant. Cities with high and relatively high carbon emission intensity had changed from a scattered and point distribution to a 7-shaped belt-like agglomeration running through northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu, southern Jiangsu, and southeastern Zhejiang Province. 2) Land use transition can reduce local carbon emission intensity, but intensifies that of neighboring regions through the spatial spillover effect, leading to an increase in the overall carbon emission intensity of the region. The effect was significantly positive within 140 km and fluctuated in an N-shaped pattern with increasing distance. 3) Land use transition in the core areas, non-central areas, and large cities exacerbated local carbon emission intensity, while that in central areas and small-to-medium-sized cities had an inhibitory effect. The impact of negative externality of core areas and small-to-medium-sized cities on the carbon emission intensity in neighboring areas was more prominent. 4) Land use transition influences carbon emission intensity via green technology innovation and industrial structure upgrading. Accordingly, the Yangtze River Delta region should establish a robust cross-regional collaborative governance framework and implement place-based policies to facilitate low-carbon land transition.

Industrial chain resilience refers to the ability of an industrial chain to resist and recover from internal and external pressures. Against the backdrop of increasing global industrial chain risks, enhancing industrial chain resilience has become a crucial approach to ensuring industrial chain security and stability. Taking 34 cities at the prefecture level and above in Northeast China as the research sample, this study empirically analyzed the dynamic evolution, spatial differences, and internal structure of urban industrial chain resilience change from 2013 to 2022 using kernel density estimation, Dagum Gini coefficient, and variance decomposition. The results show that: 1) The urban industrial chain resilience in Northeast China exhibited a continuously rising trend from 2013 to 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 2.10%. The absolute difference in urban industrial chain resilience between different cities had gradually increased, with more obvious multi-polarized characteristics, and there was a tendency of hierarchical solidification as time goes by. 2) The urban industrial chain resilience in Northeast China showed a spatial distribution pattern of "stable in the core area and with gradient in the surrounding areas". Cities with higher industrial chain resilience were mainly distributed in the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration and the mid-southern Liaoning urban agglomeration. On this basis, Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun, and Harbin formed four core growth poles. Furthermore, a stepped distribution pattern with the core growth poles as the center and decreasing toward the periphery had emerged. 3) The spatial differences in urban industrial chain resilience in Northeastern China had been continuously increasing, and supervariable density was the main source of spatial differences, with a contribution of 54.30%. 4) The difference in industrial chain leadership and industrial chain resistance constituted the main source of the overall difference in urban industrial chain resilience in Northeast China. Increasing the difference in industrial chain recovery had a positive effect on reducing the overall difference. Meanwhile, the contribution rate of industrial chain foundation difference had significantly decreased, while the contribution rate of industrial chain sustainability difference had altered the direction of change of the overall difference to some extent. Based on the conclusions, a number of policy recommendations were also put forward. The results can provide empirical support for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure in Northeast China, thereby contributing to the construction of a modern industrial system.